Cork Meeting Against the Refuse Charges

cork | bin tax / household tax / water tax | news report Wednesday November 05, 2003 19:17 by james - Workers Solidarity Movement and HASC

Ballyphehane organises against the service charges

About 30 people gathered in the Ballyphehane Community centre in cork on Monday night to discuss opposition to the latest threat by the city council to begin non-collection of refuse.

About 30 people gathered in the Ballyphehane Community centre in cork on Monday night to discuss opposition to the latest threat by the city council to begin non-collection of refuse. It was an angry and determined meeting. The meeting organised by local HASC (Householders Against service Charges members)was chaired by Willie McCormac and addressed by Joe Mooore and Mick Joyce, both of whom were jailed in 2001 as part of the campaign against that attempt at non collection.
What clearly emerged from the meeting is that there are a substantial number of people in the city who refuse to pay under any circumstances and have menas of disposing of their rubbish other than by city council trucks. Joe Moore outlined the long trail of petty harrassment, threats and intimidation employed by the city council down the years. he also pointed out that the placing of rubbish on the steps of City Hall during the last non collection attempt (which had seen him and others jailed) ended when the council sued for peace and agreed to collect all bins. There followed a lively discussion from the floor indicating that though the level of non-payment in Cork may not be as high as Dublin, that a hard core know what is at stake and will not break.
Two HASC members are being dragged through the courts over non-payment the first Brendan O Neill, Who was jailed in 1991 for non-payment, appears in Cork district Court on Friday November 14th at 10 am. A picket has been called by HASC.